193rd Session Committee Summaries

6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

The evening began with a reception at the Hood Gallery where Director Brian Kennedy greeted us with an overview of the museum and its place at Dartmouth. That was followed by two outstanding tours of the current display of aboriginal art by women of Australia and of the museum's permanent collection.

We moved on to dinner at Alumni Hall where Council President Martha Beattie '76 was the speaker. She urged the council to focus on effective alumni engagement and the need to promote healing within the alumni body using open and regular communication. She noted “there is no better basis for this healing than communicating the excellence of the College today as we share and relish the memories of yesterday.” Martha reminded councilors that the primary purpose of the council since its founding has always been communications.

Martha then laid out a schedule for the weekend, stressing the need for councilors to deliberate carefully about why the constitution did not pass and what action, if any, should now be taken by the Alumni Council.

10 AM – 10:45 AM
The Campus Environment:  Past, Present, and Future

Jack Wilson, associate director, planning, design, and construction (an architect and professor at Dartmouth since 1983), presented a visual introduction to new facilities.
 
Jack discussed the master planning principles that have been employed on campus over the last 15 years which include:
 
-Preservation and Connection (e.g., The Green) but not homogeneity (e.g., Rollins, Baker, Hopkins, Dartmouth Hall)
-Renewal and Change (e.g., Alumni Gym greatly enhanced; Webster Hall to Rauner Library; Baker & Berry Libraries; uses of buildings-Sanborn Library and Berry).  Technology had to be integrated into the designs.

He provided an overview of projects recently completed or under construction including

-Alumni Gym, a major transformation including a 14,000 square foot workout section
-New turf, football field and track
-Kemeny Hall and Haldeman Center
-McLaughlin Cluster, six new residence buildings with 360 beds.  Now anyone who wants to live on campus can.
-Tuck Mall building, housing 160 new beds
-MacLean Engineering Center
-Hitchcock Hall renovation
-the new Varsity building

All new furniture in these buildings is made from wood taken from the Second College Grant.

Facilities in the planning stage for the next five to eight years completion include

-New soccer facilities on Chase Field
-New living/learning center at Tuck
-New dining hall
-New life science building for the biology department
-visual arts center on Lebanon Street
-Replacement of Thayer Hall with 650 seats and a social space

Funding is the key to the timing for completion of the above facilities.

For a comprehensive view of the previously mentioned facilities visit dartmouth.edu/~opdc/projects/index.html.

10:45AM – 11:15AM
Report by the Nominating Committee
Moderated by Rick Routhier '73 '76Tu, Chair

The Nominating Committee members include Martha Beattie '76, Anton Anderson ‘89, J. B. Daukas '84, John Engleman '68, Rick Routhier '73 '76Tu, Rick Silverman '81, Julie Cillo '92, Chrissy Drescher '87, Jeff Weiss '86, and Martha Hartfiel '83.

Rick emphasized that the College administration had virtually no impact on the nominees selected.  He reported that the board of trustees will be expanded to 22 members but that the timetable for this expansion is not defined yet. The board of trustees has 18 members including

-8 alumni trustees elected by alumni
-8 charter trustees appointed by the board
-the president of the College
-the governor of New Hampshire

He reminded everybody that the Alumni Council is required to propose three nominees for the opening on the board for the alumni trustee retiring in June 2007. The Nominating Committee prepares the slate of candidates, seeking a wide range of views and experience. Rick added that there is no required “litmus test,” such as the ability to contribute financially to the College, or to be politically persuasive.

The Alumni Council then votes to approve or reject the slate of candidates.

At this point, the duties of supporting the election shift from the Alumni Council to the Association of Alumni; the Association manages voting and election.

The timetable for the 2006-07 alumni trustee election is as follows: 1) the Alumni
Council votes on the slate on December 2, 2006, 2) if the slate of candidates is approved, the names are announced to the alumni that day, 3) there is a period of 60 days following this announcement for petition candidates to pursue and enter the process.

More than 300 people were reviewed for potential nomination starting in July 2006.  The criteria that were used for trusteeship include

-ability to be elected
-deep professional accomplishment
-passion for Dartmouth excellence
-experience on other for-profit or nonprofit boards
-demonstrated independent point-of-view
-ability to handle conflict effectively
-outstanding communication skills
-willingness to serve, campaign, and tell a compelling story

The nominees are Richard “Sandy” Alderson '69 of San Diego, California, CEO of the San Diego Padres; Sherri Carroll Oberg '82 of Wellesley, Massachusetts, President and CEO of Acusphere, Inc.; and Ambassador John Wolf '70 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, President of Eisenhower Fellowships.

11:15 AM to 12:15 PM
Panel Presentation by the Deans of Dartmouth Graduate Schools

Participants included Joseph Helble, Dean and Professor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering; Stephen P. Spielberg, Dean and Professor, Dartmouth Medical School;
Paul Danos, Dean and Laurence F. Whittemore Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth; and Charles Barlowe, Dean of Graduate Studies

Dean Spielberg reported the Dartmouth Medical School has 4,000 living alumni (about 3,000 of whom are MDs with the balance holding PhDs and master's degrees and degrees in clinical sciences or public health) and is the fourth oldest medical school in the country.  The medical school program was only two years long until 1973, when it converted to a conventional four-year program.  At that time graduates had to move on to another medical school to complete their education.  Dean Spielberg mentioned that the last two years of DMS now are largely clinical and hands on.  Women comprise approximately 50 percent of most recent classes, raising challenges relating to families and career paths.  Nationally, medical school graduate students graduate with $150,000 of debt on average; that amount is lower at DMS due to alumni generosity, among other things.

A surprisingly large number of the DMS alumni remain in northern New England and act as teachers and mentors at DMS and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

The undergraduates benefit tremendously from access to the students, faculty and facilities of DMS.  Dean Spielberg maintained he was more active in undergraduate learning than any other medical school dean in the country.  On any given day approximately 200 undergraduates are conducting research in medical school labs, and undergraduates can develop their own programs with DMS faculty; these arrangements are flexible and fluid.  Some DMS courses are available to undergraduates and some DMS faculty members teach undergraduate courses.  Dean Spielberg concluded by saying that the DMS is at the service of intellectual curiosity, whether it comes from medical students or undergraduates, and undergraduates benefit by the size of and access to DMS.

Dean Danos reported that Tuck has 8,000 alumni who are famously faithful and involved with the Tuck family.  Tuck maintains an extensive alumni database which Tuck students can access.  Tuck alumni are generous with their time (through many formal and informal events in which alumni participate such as leadership speakers, visiting execs, alumni seminars, Tuck clubs, advisory boards, newsletters and emails) and money.  Approximately 500 Tuck alums are actively involved in fundraising, and 65 percent of Tuck alumni make financial contributions.  Dartmouth undergrads are invited to many Tuck events.  Some Tuck professors are designing courses for undergraduates.  Dean Danos stressed the point that the Tuck faculty is available to great thinkers and great ideas and does not limit itself to graduate students.  The Tuck faculty is composed of teachers, not “graduate school teachers.”

Dean Helble reminded councilors that Thayer offers undergraduate degrees, an option that distinguishes it from other Dartmouth graduate programs.  Thayer also has a brand new facility, which opened in the fall.  The dean emphasized that Thayer alumni were vital contributors to Thayer.  Many Thayer graduate students are Dartmouth undergraduates– 17 of 19 members of the Thayer board have Dartmouth undergraduate degrees.  Much of the Thayer experience involves working in teams on projects, which allows undergraduate participation (many of the ideas for the projects come from alumni).  Thayer has a higher percentage of female students than other engineering schools (33 percent of the undergraduates, 38 percent of PhD candidates) which Dean Helble attributes to the close integration of the Dartmouth community and the strong liberal arts environment here.

Dean Helble emphasized that the Thayer graduate students are at the cutting edge of research, and those graduate students and Thayer faculty are available to the undergraduate students.  Alumni have been generous in funding opportunities for undergraduates at Thayer.

Dean Barlowe said that Dartmouth has been offering master's and PhDs degrees from the early 1800s but not in large numbers.  The modern arts and sciences graduate program was developed in the late 1960s/early 1970s and currently consists of 17 separate programs. He emphasized that Dartmouth's high quality, close-knit and cross-discipline graduate programs enhance the undergraduate experience.  Many graduate students were Dartmouth undergraduates.  Dean Barlowe stated there are many opportunities for undergraduates to work with graduate faculty and graduate students.  Happily, funding can generally be found to support the addition of undergraduates to graduate research projects.  Dean Barlowe concluded by noting that the new dining facility will contain space dedicated to the arts and science graduate program, the first time space has been dedicated to the program.

Dean Barlowe emphasized that he considers Dartmouth a single intellectually rich community, with a continuum (not a dichotomy–a word also rejected by Dean Danos) between the graduate and undergraduate programs.  The graduate program creates synergies for the undergraduate program and graduates and undergraduates are necessarily integrated given Dartmouth's setting and size.  Graduate students are helpful to undergraduates with respect to career counseling and professional development.

In different ways the Deans repeatedly made the point that Dartmouth's graduate programs substantially enhance the undergraduate experience by permitting access to cutting edge teachers, students and research generally not available in a strictly undergraduate environment.  The graduate programs at Dartmouth are not particularly hierarchical (i.e., the graduate programs are not presumed to be more important than the undergraduate program).  Teaching assistants exist but are a very minor part of the undergraduate program.  According to the Dartmouth Web site, there are approximately 4,100 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate students.

12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Lunch Program: Capital Campaign Update
Carrie Pelzel'54a, Vice President for Development

Carrie opened her remarks by reporting that in 2006 alumni achieved the highest percentage of alumni participation since 1998 of giving to the Dartmouth College Fund: 50.8 percent representing 24,618 alumni donors. 

She said her development office is focused on two goals right now: 1) the seven-year campaign to raise $1.3B and 2) growing alumni participation to 60 percent by the end of the seven-year campaign.  To reach these goals, the development office needs to encourage new donors to give to the College. To accomplish this, they need to 1) better understand how to engage a diverse constituency and 2) how to celebrate every donor (e.g. for the first time, this year a report was published listing the name of each undergraduate alumni who contributed to Dartmouth in the past year).

So far $746.6M has been raised. Carrie feels the campaign is on track to make the overall goal of $1.3B. There has been a recent dip in performance below the trend line and Carrie reports that she is beginning to hear donors' concerns about governance issues that affect how much alumni are willing to give.

She emphasized that alumni have a great impact on the College through their gifts. Carrie played a video from which councilors heard a number of donors speak about their gifts and their associated experiences. She closed by noting there is still $500M to raise and there are still funding goals unmet.

2 PM – 4:30 PM
Plenary Session II

Cecelia Gaposchkin, Assistant Dean of the Faculty for Pre Major Advising, offered the following comments:

Her position is less than three years old and was created based on an institutional belief that more attention was needed for the five- to six-term period leading up to the point at which students were required to choose their academic major

Faculty see their advising role as an integral part of their teaching responsibility at Dartmouth; a key issue for faculty is to define 1) their precise role in advising and 2) how best to execute that role

Her roles as dean are 1) coordinating the decentralized system of information available in departments and 2) supporting and coordinating with the faculty

The first year advising program was inherited from the first Yyear office and the new initiatives of the program include an advising questionnaire, a handbook for faculty trainers, new faculty training, and sponsoring lunches and related events

Since there are different challenges for students in their sophomore year, program initiatives for sophomores include a sophomore booklet (information) and a pilot “sophomore program” in the Fayers.

Cecelia described the challenges of advising as 1) a decentralized advising network, 2) an ingrained culture, 3) busy schedules for both students and advisors and 4) the great value to students of capitalizing on the enormous benefits of networking with students and sharing experiences

The final part of the session was a Q&A with members of the DOSC (Deans' Office Student Consultants).  The DOSC consists of 11 students with different backgrounds. Members are selected using a rigorous application process. Their responsibility is to advise first- and second-year students with weekly office hours in each dormitory cluster; students can come in and ask questions of the DOSC member.

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM

The Interactive Classroom
Presentation by Jon Kull '88, Assistant Professor of Chemistry (faculty representative on the Alumni Council)

Dartmouth undergraduates are offered great opportunities for interactive learning through research opportunities. Examples: Women in Science Program for first-year students, research opportunities for sophomores in the biological sciences that are funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (e.g., Elisabeth Heuston '06's work with Jon using x-ray crystallography to determine the structure of a motion protein-—she discovered the structure that allows the protein to move), the Presidential Scholars Program for juniors, and senior honors thesis work for seniors.

Undergraduate research is conducted by a relatively small population of students, however. What about the larger, introductory-level classrooms? How could those be made more interactive? By classroom design changes (to smaller group tables and U-shaped tables), by active learning group projects, and by the use of personal response systems, also called "clickers."  Clickers are about the size of a cell phone, and students use them individually, anonymously, or as a team while in their seats to respond to questions, such as multiple-choice questions, posed by the professor. They're connected to PowerPoint, and the breakdown of the students' responses to questions are reflected immediately on the screen.

Councilors demonstrated the use of clickers (Kull asked what percentage of the body is water and gave four possible answers, and councilors chose one using their clickers).

Pilot use of clickers is being funded by the Dartmouth Computing Technology Venture Fund.

Former alumni councilor Carey Heckman '76 said that clickers were used in last spring's artificial intelligence conference on campus and he thought their use was a positive addition to the conference.

3:15 PM – 5 PM

Discussion:  Alumni Governance Redux

In a discussion led by President Beattie and President-electRick Silverman '81, a number of councilors reported alumni constituents' views on the fall constitution vote and offered their thoughts on the vote and how the council should move forward. With the failure of the proposed constitution, which would have amended the Association of Alumni constitution to merge the association and council into one organization, the Alumni Council still stands. (The Alumni Governance Task Force, which drafted the proposal, was dissolved.)

Councilor John Engelman '68reported that alumni thought the trustee election provision too convoluted and this was the key issue affecting voting; other councilors said they heard this also. Others reported that alumni disapproved of the “robocalling” made by off-campus groups to get out the vote, thought the constitution document was too complex, or perceived it as an initiative of the administration and rejected it out of disapproval of former actions of the administration. Still others who perceived the constitution as an administrative initiative didn't vote because they're happy with the administration and don't want change.

Many alumni were unaware, until the vote, of the existence of the Alumni Council, and many still don't know it exists. One reason for this is the obscurity around how councilors come to their posts: Depending on their individual constitutions, some classes elect their councilors, and others appoint theirs. Several alumni suggested that all councilors should be elected.

Former councilor Beth Krakower '93, now a member of the College Relations Group, said the group had just drafted a resolution to that effect. Presented at the close of the meeting on Saturday by councilor and College Relations Group member Todd Hemphill '78, the resolution states that the Alumni Council will encourage all bodies that send representatives to the council to evaluate their election/selection process and take steps to make it more democratic. It was approved (see “New Business” section). Hemphill described this as “taking baby steps” to promote democracy in lieu of major constitutional change.

Councilors were of many minds about how the Alumni Council should go forward. A number were interested in a detailed plan that councilorJohn Daukas Jr. '84 presented in the “hope that we could implement the many noncontroversial provisions [of the failed proposed constitution] that increase democracy and the ability of alumni to communicate with trustees and the administration through the Alumni Council constitution.” At the other end of the spectrum was Councilor J. Michael Houlihan '61, who said he thought constitutional change “should be put off indefinitely.”

7 PM – 9 PM

Dinner and Program at the Hopkins Center Alumni Hall
Presentation of Alumni Awards
Remarks by President James Wright

Martha Beattie presented Dartmouth Alumni Awards to Kelly Fead '78 and Otho Kerr III '79.

President James Wright '64a addressed the councilors.  The full text of his speech is available online at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~presoff/speeches/2006/1205.html.

8:30AM – 10:30AM
Open Forum

Burning “committee” Issues

Enrollment and Admissions Committee Chair Douglas Tyson '81 reported that the committee approved the following resolution requesting that a councilor serve on the search committee for Karl Furstenberg's position (Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid):

We, the Committee on Enrollment and Admissions of the Alumni Council, would like to formally extend all aid and support to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Search Committee.

Given that Enrollment and Admissions Committee on Alumni Council is comprised of District Enrollment Directors (DEDs), alumni interviewers, high school guidance counselors and former Dartmouth admission officers, we are eager to lend our expertise, particularly during the interview process. Given that Dean Furstenberg has been so successful in attracting and enrolling extraordinary classes of students with the highest academic caliber and who actively uphold the core values of the College, the Committee is dedicated to ensuring that the new Dean can build upon this legacy. The Committee also wants to express its concern that there needs to be a voice representing the 66,700 alumni. Prior and existing search committees have included Alumni Council representation, and we respectfully submit that this trend should continue.

The Student Life Committee chair,Jeff Weiss '86, reported that students want interaction with alumni. A PDF will be coming out in January with contact info on Take A Student To Eat (T.A.S.T.E.), inCircle, etc., and Weiss urged councilors to review it and get it out to their constituents.

Nominating Committee Chair Rick Routhier '73, made a motion that the slate of three candidates be approved as the council nominees to the trustee position, and it was passed.

He gave a PowerPoint presentation on the trustee election process. Rick explained that the current voting system used by alumni is an approval voting system, and it was implemented in 1990. It's designed for situations in which it's difficult to distinguish among different candidates. He reminded councilors to vote for all candidates they wish to support, and not just one candidate.  The candidate who wins is the one about whom the fewest people disagree. Rick said that the work of the trustee election is now passed on to the Balloting Committee, which will start the balloting process. The next meeting of the Nominating Committee will be March 12 in New York.

He opened the floor for questions about the trustee election:

-What are the campaign guidelines? There are no restrictions on campaigning now. In the past, alumni council candidates couldn't do any campaigning. Now they can. The three candidates can start their messaging now.

-Thoughtful questions came up about the lack of racial diversity among the three candidates. Rick acknowledged this but pointed out that they all have records of diversity advocacy.

-What is the role of the trustees? Are they like judges, or more like representatives or advocates?  Martha Beattie responded that their role is complete stewardship of the College. They guide the college so it can fulfill its mission to serve future and current students. Its primary job is not representing alumni.  Running the college should not be politicized.

The presentation closed with a reminder to councilors that the Nominating Committee are seeking recommendations for the following positions: council president-elect, CRG members, Nominating Committee members, and at-large representatives

Facebook, Holly Sateia '82AS, Dean of Student Life

Holly Sateia '82AS and three students made a presentation on Facebook.com, an online means of communication that is very popular with college students. The first student gave a PowerPoint presentation explaining how facebook.com works, what's included in it, and how to read a typical entry. The second student talked about the various types of student members: those who do it just because everyone does it but don't really update their page or visit other people's pages or make friends; those who use it and check it several times a day; those who are obsessed with tracking people online. The third student discussed the growing use of Facebook to serve as a place for discussion of issues and promotion of causes; for example there's a Facebook entry for students who are promoting the Dartmoose as a College mascot.

Alumni Life 101, Todd Donovan '92, Chair of the Young Alumni Committee

Copies of “Alumni 101” were distributed to councilors.  “Alumni 101” is an online resource that the Young Alumni Committee produced last year to introduce recent graduates to “alumni life.” The Young Alumni Committee is pleased with it. Revisions/additions are planned for January. There is some talk about doing a print version in addition to the current PDF version.

Open Forum

The open forum included the following discussion items raised by current and former alumni councilors in addition to other alumni who were in attendance. 

President-elect Rick Silverman '81 proposed the creation of a task force to consider how the council should go forward from the results of the constitution vote.  He mentioned that we need to manage ourselves more efficiently and, perhaps, a task force could be formed that would include alumni from the council as well as non-councilors.

Concern was raised about the amount of research that is conducted by faculty at Dartmouth vs. teaching.  However, many people felt that the graduate school deans panel had addressed this issue.

In light of the constitution vote results, the council needs to show that it listens more to the “opposition” and not just conclude that it needs to market its message more effectively. There was a discussion about the selection/election process of alumni councilors. Based on their individual class constitutions, some classes elect their representatives while others appoint them.  Concern was voiced that all representatives should be elected.

Address by Carmen Lopez '97, alumni council representative of the Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth

Drawing on fact-finding meetings with President Wright and other College administrators, Councilor Carmen Lopez '97 gave a detailed report on racist actions directed at Native American students this fall. The incidents ranged from the intrusion of some fraternity members into a drummers circle during the campus powwow in October to the publication in late November of an image offensive to Native Americans on the cover of the Dartmouth Review (a conservative newspaper that is not affiliated with Dartmouth).

Lopez, who is executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program, serves as the 2005–2008 Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth representative to the alumni council. “Dartmouth is still seen as the premier institution in the country to send Native American students to,” she said, “but recently I've had calls from alumni across the country, asking, 'What's going on there?'”

Lopez described the “Solidarity against Hatred” rally, which was organized by students within a day of the publication of the paper and drew hundreds of people, as an “affirmation of Dartmouth.” This view was also taken by President Wright, who said, “The rally was unlike any other I've seen in my 37 years on campus, in that it did not stress hurt and anger, but instead commonality. Hurt and angry though they were, these students showed they embrace their College and its purpose.”

Nevertheless, Lopez cautioned, minority students' “academic experience is at stake” when their own and the faculty's energies must be diverted to these issues. “Students want the administration to take steps,” she said, “and what these steps are is up to President Wright and [Acting Dean of the College] Dan Nelson.

“But what can we do as alumni councilors?”—Lopez struggled to gain control of her emotions as she spoke the next words—"I asked the students, and they said, “Just show us you care. Send emails. It's good to know you're thinking of us.”

“We need to move away from our alumni issues,” Lopez said, “and come back to student experience right now. We need to have answers for alumni who ask us what's happening on campus. I'm asking you to think about your sphere of influence. Educate and network your alumni. And ask your student, what do you think of what's going on?”

10:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Trustee Report: Albert Mulley Jr., MD '70 and Bill Neukom '64, chair of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Mulley thanked alumni for their involvement and spoke of service being the essence of community. He laid out a framework for what the board has been focused on and its priorities. Faculty recruitment and retention—having the resources and commitment to get and keep top faculty were mentioned, as was the goal of growing the faculty by 10 percent, which has nearly been accomplished. The second goal was to continue to recruit the most able and promising students regardless of financial background. It was mentioned that the proportion of legacies was just about equal to those of first-generation college students. The third goal was to provide these faculty and students with world-class learning facilities, not just classrooms, but also the larger environment.

In the past eight years the board has spent roughly $600 million on facilities and they plan to spend another $500 million. Amongst future projects mentioned was the new Life Sciences building, with an estimated cost of $137-140 million dollars, which has not been raised yet. Mulley praised the work of the Academic Excellence Group focusing on graduate programs.

Regarding the alumni constitution vote, Mulley reminded everyone that the board had voted as a group on the proposal in September. The endorsement was taken with reluctance on a procedural basis, but it was felt that it was the right thing to do at the time.

The floor was then opened up to questions for Mulley and Bill Neukom, chair of the board. Neukom prefaced the questions with brief remarks about their meeting with the Stanford University board, and Stanford's admiration of the Dartmouth undergraduate education. He noted that Dartmouth's resources for undergraduates are matched by few similar institutions, and spoke of Dartmouth's teaching tradition, though he acknowledged that “we are in a competitive business.”

The following were questions touched on:
-the gradual expansion of the board from 16 to 22 members, which so far has been equally divided between charter and alumni members, although that is at the board's discretion
-the role of the board in the capital campaign
-the lack of dissemination of information (or lack of “transparency”) on the actual discussions of the board and how the members come about their decisions. This is something the board is thinking about, but to allow full candor the board would not want its members to be singled out for how they voted, though they are considering more disclosure
-the role of the staff and the McKinsey report on administrative functions at the college, which is currently being dealt with by various committees
-the board's recognition that it needs to do a better job of getting its “story” out

David Spalding '76, Vice President for Alumni Relations

Spalding thanked councilors for the time and effort they put into serving Dartmouth College. He identified five priorities this year for alumni relations:

Facilitate effective alumni governance

Strengthen two-way communications between alumni and the College

Expand support for alumni volunteer leadership

Expand faculty-alumni interaction

Increase participation in alumni relations programs

In addition to the trustee election, it was noted that this year there also would be an election for the officers of the Association of Alumni. There will be no restrictions on campaigning, and potential participants have already been informed that it will be a contested election.

David commented that the Alumni Council had no mission statement, and that its eight purposes, listed in the constitution, had not been reexamined for some time. What, he asked, should the function of the council be? It seemed to him that the ultimate form of the council should follow what its function should be. He cited the “broad lack of understanding” as to what the council actually was, but also numerous examples of the value of the council.

In terms of alumni communications, Spalding spoke of two challenges

1. Making on-campus events more effective opportunities for communicating with alumni.

2. Reaching the 60,000 or so alumni “we can't see.” The new communications “haven't worked all that well,” and the need to work more effectively with our “tried and true” methods of communications: the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Dartmouth Life, and the Dartmouth online. There is an effort to work with the Dartmouth to enhance alumni coverage (and also alumni-centered advertising)

In terms of supporting volunteer leaders “everyone has less time” than they used to, so it is incumbent on alumni relations to help more with the everyday activities. Hence, they are increasing staffing in the class and club area, as they have increased affiliated group staffing. Special areas of focus include

Succession planning for volunteers, identifying future leaders, and avoiding down periods

Updated leadership aids and better templates

Documenting best practices

Enhancing alumni/faculty interaction, especially during reunions

Overall increased participation in events

David closed by emphasizing the importance of establishing and using metrics to measure alumni relations performance in their operating units.  There is also need for a strategic plan to be developed.

Old Business:

Rick Routhier and Martha Beattie noted that the College Relations Group had committed to meetings on a regular basis with the trustees. Martha reiterated that it was incumbent on the council members to communicate what they had learned that weekend.

New Business:

Todd Hemphill' 78, a member of the College Relations Group,  noted that while the Alumni Council could not change the constitution at this very time, the council could send a statement urging all bodies sending representatives to the council to evaluate their selection of representatives and encourage them to become more democratic in the selection process. Discussion followed.  The College Relations Group submitted the following resolution which was approved by the Alumni Council:

Resolution:
193rd Dartmouth

The 193rd meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council was adjourned.